Seacoast United Phantoms

The Seacoast United Phantoms (formerly the New Hampshire Phantoms) are an American soccer team based in the coastal region of southeastern New Hampshire and northeastern Massachusetts. The team is based in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, where it played from 2011 to 2017, in the stadium of Portsmouth High School. Founded in 1996, the team plays in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. The team's colors are blue, white, gold and black.

The team also fields a team in the USL's Super-20 League, a league for players 17 to 20 years of age run under the United Soccer Leagues umbrella.

History

USISL Pro League/USISL D-3 Pro League

New Hampshire Phantoms joined the ranks of American pro soccer in 1996 as an expansion franchise in the third-tier USISL Pro League. They finished their first season in competition with a decent 8–7–1 record, in 6th place in the Northeast Conference behind Central Jersey Riptide, but out of the playoffs. They improved to a 9–5–4 record in 1997 and finished third in the Northeast behind North Jersey Imperials, and qualified for the post-season for the first time. Their run through the playoffs was impressive: they took out divisional rivals Rhode Island Stingrays 2–1 in overtime in the divisional semi finals, and then beat Central Jersey Riptide 2–0 to progress to the national tournament. The Phantoms squeaked past Mid-Atlantic division side Baltimore Bays 1–0 in overtime in the quarter finals, and were just one win away from the Championship Game, but lost 2–1 in overtime to eventual champions Albuquerque Geckos in the semi finals. Ron Murphy was the Phantoms' top scorer in a very successful year, with 19 goals, the fourth best in the league.

Things were even better for the Phantoms in 1998, as they improved their regular season performance for the second straight year, finishing with a 10–6–2 records and 2nd in the Northeast behind Rhode Island Stingrays.